Misguided Ghosts
by kishiswriting
Summary: When Nezumi returns 10 years after the wall had fallen, he finds more than memories waiting for him.


**Misguided Ghosts**

Disclaimer: The lyrics are from the song "Misguided Ghosts" by Paramore. I do not own No. 6 and its characters. They belong to the great Atsuko Asano.

* * *

_I'm going away for a while_

_But I'll be back, don't try to follow me_

"Nezumi, the wall has fallen. We can all now live freely, without anyone controlling and watching us."

"I'll leave before the sun rises."

"But why? Please help me understand why you are still pursuing this when our third option has succeeded. There is no need for you to leave, Nezumi. You can live with me and mom. Our friends are all waiting for us-"

_See I'm trying to find my place_

_But it might not be here where I feel safe_

"No. 6 or me? Didn't I ask you to choose back then?"

"There is no No. 6 anymore! We destroyed the wall. We can rebuild it and make it better for everyone - the people inside and outside the wall can all work toge-"

"Enough, Shion! After all that you saw, you still believe in your ideals? Tsk! Old habits die hard, huh."

"But Nezumi, please stay..."

_We all learn to make mistakes_

"Shion, I am a rat. You, however, have always lived here. So shut your mouth or I'll leave this morning with your blood on my hands."

"I can't lose you, Nezumi."

_Cause I'm just one of those ghosts_

_Traveling endlessly_

Ah, what a bitter tasting memory.

Ten years after the fall of the wall, I found myself walking back to the place I had left; the place I destroyed, the place I hated the most, the place that took my freedom away, the place Shion belonged to.

_Don't need no roads_

_In fact they follow me_

_And we just go in circles_

I went away, not knowing what to do but get away. I moved from one place to the next, trying to figure out what I really wanted from everything that had happened.

It was difficult, but it was something that was not new to me. I was an exceptional liar, a master deceiver, and an excellent manipulator. I was skilled, conditioned to get by no matter what medium I used. There was no right or wrong for me as long as I survived.

It was how I had always lived, but somehow, after the fall, something inside me changed. I didn't realize it back then, but the fall of the wall echoed what I felt.

My spirit had crumbled.

_Well now I'm told that this is life_

_And pain is just a simple compromise_

_So we can get what we want out of it_

It took me ten damn years to realize that it was a mistake on my part to leave - to leave Shion. But pride and fear were complicated monsters that lead me to do so. I wanted to prove that I was still the same rat, but I forgot that that rat wouldn't have survived without him.

_Would someone care to classify,_

_Out broken hearts and twisted minds_

_So I can find someone to rely on_

I pushed Shion away from me when I could have just swallowed my pride then and stayed with them. But I needed the time to get away, to numb myself from the pain I was carrying all those times. I was blinded by my fury and all I wanted to do then was destroy them; to make them realize what it was like to live alone, without anyone to turn to. To run and hide away from them all. I was so adamant, I mocked and pushed Shion away. I didn't think of him too.

_And run to them, to them full speed ahead_

_Oh you are not, useless_

_We are just misguided ghosts_

_Traveling endlessly _

Now, I found myself walking back to our home; back to the place where we spent our time reading Macbeth, where we ate our meals with my pet rats, where we danced away our sorrows for one night, and where we kissed - back to where I belonged.

_The ones we trusted the most_

_Pushed us far away_

_And there's no one road_

As I descended the stairs, I wondered if he would still welcome me - an ass of a rat. I wondered if he still wanted me - a stupid person who was at loss all his life, only to find himself returning to the place he left.

_And we should not be the same_

_But I'm just a ghost_

_And still they echo me_

I turned the knob of the door and saw Shion sitting on our bed, waiting for me. I saw the books all neatly tucked on the old bookshelves. The place smelled like burning candles, just like before. The furniture was the same.

Shion shifted his eyes away from what he was reading and settled them on me. He smiled and greeted, "Welcome home."

_They echo me in circles_

But it was only his ghost I saw.


End file.
